“We have received a significant surge in demand for both ground and whole muscle cuts of Bison,” Tom Ryan, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Sierra Meat & Seafood, told FoodNavigator-USA.
“The buzz was at a fever pitch during the spring and early summer of last year especially for ground Bison,” he added.
Setting itself apart
For more than 50 years, Durham Ranch prides itself for the humane raising, processing, and distribution of bison meat out of a 55,000-acre ranch in Wyoming under its current leadership, the Flocchini family.
“That was our foray into more unique, specialty meats,” Ryan said. “It set us apart from the market, [and] gave us a sustainable competitive advantage.”
The ranch was acquired by the Flocchini family in 1965, who was already running a meat company in South San Francisco since 1935. The Durham Ranch operation is a part of Sierra Meat & Seafood, also owned by the Flocchini family, which focuses on specialty meats.
“What we learned from the Durham Bison Ranch, we applied to other species to market our specialty meats nationally,” Ryan said. This includes rabbit, which is more popular among chefs; wild boar, popular on both coasts and in Texas; venison, popular in the northeast; and elk, popular in the Pacific Northwest.
But bison remained the only animal that is raised directly by the company; the other species are harvested by different partners and suppliers throughout the country, while elk and venison come from New Zealand because of the year-round availability of fresh grass.
Nothing beats bison
“A booming trade is the pet food industry,” Ryan said. “It’s impossible to keep up with. There’s so much demand for different types of protein for pet food.”
But particularly for bison, its boom is also largely affected by a more widespread interest for human consumption, Ryan said.
One of the most familiar, household name items is EPIC’s bison, bacon, and cranberry bar, marketed as a flavorful, nutrient-dense snack from “an outrageously lean animal [that] is an iconic symbol of North America.”
And with the increase of bone broth’s popularity, it’s natural that products such as bison bone broth are being stocked on shelves.
Ryan doesn’t think bison’s newfound popularity is merely a seasonal phase. “Winter demand for Bison braising cuts mirrored the summer trend,” he said. “We are predicting another busy grilling season for 2016."